Cane with flag



S. LEWIS CANE WITH FLAG April 4, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1960 INVENTO R.

LEWIS SAMUEL m WM ATTORNEY April 4, 1961 Filed May 11, 1960 s. LEWIS 2,977,965

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cl im (c1,- 1 '554 V 'flhe=inventionrelates toa cane with a-iflag. lt is an object of the --i1iventionto provide =a" hollow'-cane or a cane'with atleast a1hoillowlportionin=which affla-g may beinormally housed and concealed which,'-however, may be protracted or caused to be -protra ctedby;the user through a longitudinal slot in the wall of the cane, wherein at leastpne edge' ,of the flag remains attached to the cane or to a member which'is permanently connected with the cane." The :purpose of .the flag when unfurled or projected is to serve .as signal V that the use'r, who may be o :chron eally sick person such as tag. a diabetic or somebody sufiering from a heart trouble, needs the urgent help of a passer-by. The cane with the fiag may also be used for waving e.g. at conventions, parades and the like. Other uses of the cane with the flag are also conceivable.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an at least partlyhollow cane having a longitudinal slot in communication with the hollow cane portion, with means to close the slot and a flag normally furled within that cane portion and attached with one edge to a member connected with the cane and with another edge to the slot closing means whereby when removing that means from the closing position the flag will be unfurled and pulled at least partly through the slot out of the cane.

The invention also aims to provide a cane with a flag of the mentioned type wherein'spring means tend to open the slot and to unfurl the flag and the spring means are held tensioned by a locking member which, when shifted in an unlocking position, will release the spring means to open the slot and to unfurl the flag.

aired States Patent 2,977,965 Patented Apr. 4, 196 1 '2 is located inside the cane at the: lower end of the hollow-space 14 and extends withalateral lug 20 into the slot '16 so that thelug seats on'the bottom of the slot 16. The plug 18 has also =two=upwardly directed lugs 22 :and 24, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. These lugs are spaced from each other andhave a'bore therethrough for a pivot pin 26. An elongated member 28 fits the entire slot 16 as far as it is otherwise free, and has at itslower end an ear located between the lugs'g22-and 24, and pivoted on 'pin 26 so that member 28 can swing out intothe position shown in Fig. 2. Ear 30 isv slightly narrower thanthe. elongated portion of the member 28; as clearly shown in Fig. 5, so that the ear 30 is sufiicient- 1y spaced ifromthe lug 22 to leave room for thebend 32 of a hairpin spring whichhas two upwardly directed legs 34 and 36. The bend 32 is coiled about the pin- 26. 'The leg 34 is located inside the'space '14 and opposite the slot 16 ;-and extends,.for a 'purpose to be explained later on, iwithjts free end 38 appreciably higher than the upper end 40 of the member.28. The other leg 36 bears from rthe inside of the cane against the member 28, which for. this reasonjs longitudinally; grooved (ligating as clearly seen at 42 in Fig. 9. This leg is at zrnostras long, as the .member;28 so that it can pass a through @the lot .16'v,v,hen t is-i open d by he rnembcrjttsswing ing into the position of Fig.2 due to the tension of the hairpin spring.

A piece of thin fabric 44' substantially of the shape of the sector of a circle and of a radial length substantially like that of the member 28 is provided so as to form the flag which is combined with the cane according to the invention. One of the radial edges 46 of the fabric is turned about the spring leg 36 and glued or sewed to the surface of the fabric 44, as shown in Fig. 9. The other radial edge is secured to the other spring leg 34 in the same manner. Now it will be clear that when the slot 16 is closed by the member 28, the fabric or flag 44 may be folded or furled inside the cane body 7 like a fan, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, whereas when the Figs. 2 and 8.

Further objects and details of the invention will be apparent from the description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment thereof by way of example. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cane according to the invention with its slot closed and the flag concealed;

Fig. 2 is a' front elevation of the cane with the slot opened andthe flag protracted;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the cane with the flag furled therein, on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a section along line 44 of Fig. 3; t

Fig. 5 is a section along line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a section along line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a portionof the cane near thelower end of the slot;

Fig. 8- is a longitudinal section showing the unfurled The lower end of the handle 12 is interiorly screw threaded at 46 and the upper end of the cane body 10 is provided with a mating screw thread 48 and screwed into the handle. This design renders it possible to insert and assemble all the parts contained interiorly of the space 14 including the slot 16 which extends as far as the top flag on a scale larger than that of Figs. 1 and 2 but* smaller than that of Fig; 3, and I v Fig; .9 1s a cross-section along line 99 of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a cane having a tubular body 10 and {a handle -12. The cane body may be hollow throughout its entire length end of the cane body 10. Operative means are provided to lock the member 28 in the slot-closing position and to release it so that it can swing out with the flag into the position of Figs. 2 and 8. For this purpose, a ring 50 is. so arranged that it surrounds with its upper portion 52 the lower portion of the handle 12 and with a diametrically reduced lower portion 54, the upper end of the cane body 10 and the top end portion of slot 16.

The portion 52 has two oppositely arranged peripheral slots 56 which are engaged by pins 58 secured in the material of the handle 12. The pins and slots of the illustrated embodiment allow turning of ring 50 through an angle of about 45. In the reduced portion 54 of the ring an axially directed slot 60 of a width according to that of slot 16 is so provided that the two slots 60. and 16 are in registry with respect to each other when the pins 58 are at the one end of the slots 56.

When using the cane, the flag -44 normally will be concealed as in-Figs. 1,3 and 4, where the lockingring body is'provided with a slot; 16 of substantialflength I communicating with the hollow space 14. A plug 18 50 holds the member 28 within the slot 16 against the restraint of the hairpin 32, 34', 36. It will be noticed that in this position the top end 38 of'the spring leg 34 bearson the inside of the cane body opposite the slot 16. 'Now when the user of the cane wishes to indififii? furl and open fan-like to its full area (Fig. 2).

he may turn the ring 50 in Fig. 4 in counter clockwise direction whereby slot 60 will register with slot 16 and thus with the previously locked, upper end of the member 28 which is now set free and will swing outward under the actionof the hairpin spring so that the flag will un- In this position of the flag. and member 28, itiis possible that leg 34 as well as leg 36 turns clockwise in Fig. 3 about the pivot pin 26. This, however, would be immaterial because leg 34 can turn at most so far that it bears with its long upper end 38 against the thread 46 where it extends into the top end of the slot 16. 1

In order to restore the cane to its normal use, it is merely necessary to thread the flag through slot 16 back into the space 14 and to push the member 28 back into slot 16, whereupon ring 50 may be turned in the opposite direction in order to lock the member 28 in its r normal position.

Although I have shown only one embodiment of my invention, it will'be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alterations and modifications thereof are possible without departure from the essence and spirit of my invention which for that reasonshall not be limited but by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A cane in combination with a flag, said cane including a hollow body and a handle screwed on the top end of said body, said body being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from its ultimate top a distance downward from said handle, a plug inserted in said cane body adjacent the lowermost end portion of said slot, said plug including a lateral lug engaging in said slot and two lugs on top of said plug and on the sides, respectively, of said slot, a pivotpinpassedthrough said top lugs, a closure member for said slot including an ear at its lower end projecting between said top lugs and being turnable on said pivot pin, said member having a first position in which it closes said slot and has its outer face flush with the surface of the cane body and a second position in which it is swung outwards of said cane, a hair-pin References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hughes Nov. 29, 1881 Fuller Oct. 17, 1882 

